Often, ESL teachers do not have adequate time to effectively complete intensive learning activities, such as having all of their ESL students read a single English language novel.
With required classroom reading, ESL students are no different from native English speaking students, having varied tastes in reading material. Some ESL students like fiction; others don't.
However, encouraging and motivating ESL students to read full-length works of fiction can enhance and expand reading comprehension, vocabulary skills, thematic discussions and fluency beyond the basic goals of an English as a second language curriculum.
Fortunately, the task of creating a list of fiction appropriate for ESL students can be made easier by creating criteria for choosing the most appropriate books. And in an article titled, “Selecting a Passage for the EFL Reading Class”, written for The English Teaching Forum for the US Department of State, Richard R. Day, a professor of ESL and SLA at the University of Hawaii, describes in depth ten important characteristics to consider when choosing a reading text.
Also, to avoid the frustrations that can occur when students are presented with material that may prove to be too challenging, the skill levels of the students also need to be factored into the selection of appropriate works of fiction for ESL learners. For example, many of the classics of the 19th century are amazing learning tools for teaching the English language and culture, but often prove to be overwhelming even for native speakers of English. Most ESL students will need to have mastered the basics of the English language before tackling advanced literary works of literature.
ESL teachers can also simplify the daunting task of assigning a full-length work of fiction to their ESL students by providing a brief review of the book, a synopsis of the chapters, explanations of idioms and challenging vocabulary words in advance of the assignment. Because when English is the second language of a students, a great deal of their energy is utilized just by the process of understanding the language.
The variety of fictional books available for use in the context of an ESL learning environment is extensive.
For books with an historical context look to . . .
· Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane- A young man tells of his Civil War experiences.
· Time and Again by Jack Finney- The hero travels back in time to New York City in the 1880's
Or for using a work of fiction to focus on a specific element of culture (such as trials by jury) which may not be a part of an ESL student’s culture look to . . .
· Strong Poison- a mystery by Dorothy Sayers (British Culture)
For introducing a taste of science fiction to ESL, students consider . . .
· Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
And in English language learning situations where classroom time restraints will not allow for the assignment of completing a full-length work of fiction, ESL instructors can encourage their students to read independently selected works of fiction to enhance their classroom instruction.
Regarding specific resources for selecting appropriate works of full-length fiction for ESL students . . .
· an excellent list of books that include reading levels for adult new readers can be found at the Public Library Association
· a comprehensive bibliography of suggested fiction for English as a second language learners is available on-line at the Los Angeles Valley College
And for ESL teachers with young ESL students . . .
· the following paper, by Eown Brown, posted at The Internet TESL Journal provides a suggested list of titles for absolute beginners, beginners, and intermediate young ESL students.
All challenges considered—on the part of ESL teachers and their students—one of the greatest pleasures of teaching ESL can be that of introducing English language learning students to the joys of reading full-length fiction.